Pyroelectric detector performance is dependent upon its thermal response to an infrared source. Pyroelectric materials generate signals in response to such radiation which can be processed to obtain useful information for a wide variety of applications. Transfer of the information from the pyroelectric array to the circuitry which converts the information into meaningful data, however, is a major concern due to the nature of the pyroelectric materials. Signals generated in the pyroelectric material are transmitted through an electrically conductive mounting means. Performance of the array is substantially enhanced, however, by improved thermal insulation. Ideally, the mounting means should be electrical conductors and thermal insulators, two characteristics which are inherently incompatible.
Various prior art methods of bonding the pyroelectric array to the circuitry have been unable to solve the problem of unwanted thermal conductivity. U.S. Pat. No. 4,039,833 teaches the use of solder terminals, preferably indium, which are in a bump form, for the purpose of obtaining information from the detector array. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,072,863 teaches the use of metalization electrodes which apparently are designed to conduct electric signals from the array. Other prior art patents, such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,062,107, disclose the concept of employing epoxy resins as bonding agents in their conventional manner, wherein the epoxy acts as a bond forming material to physically mount one device upon another.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an improved mounting system for pyroelectric array devices to permit efficient electrical contact between the array and the processing circuitry while providing simultaneously maximum degree of thermal insulation. Other objects will appear hereinafter.